Global proposed coal capacity in 2025 reaches 25.21 billion tonnes/year, up 11% year-on-year. Asia's largest offshore oil processing platform completes topping-out
（2026/8/24—2026/8/30）
Author: Shu-Xin Zhang
International Energy News
1. Global proposed coal capacity in 2025 reaches 25.21 billion tonnes/year, up 11% year-on-year
A new report, Still Digging 2026, released by Global Energy Monitor (GEM), shows that global proposed new coal mining capacity in 2025 reached 25.21 billion tonnes per year, an 11% increase from 2024. This trend appears to contradict both the International Energy Agency's forecast that global coal demand will reach a plateau before 2030 and Ember's 2025 report indicating a decline in global coal-fired power generation.
The proposed new capacity is heavily concentrated in a small number of countries. Five nations—China (13.21 billion tonnes), India (6.38 billion tonnes), Australia (1.87 billion tonnes), Russia (0.96 billion tonnes), and South Africa (0.72 billion tonnes)—together account for nearly 92% of global proposed project plans. India is the primary driver of growth in proposed capacity, with its figure jumping from 3.29 billion tonnes the previous year to 6.38 billion tonnes, nearly doubling.
However, newly commissioned coal mining capacity globally in 2025 was only about 1.13 billion tonnes, a year-on-year decrease of nearly 40%. China and Australia saw the most significant declines, dropping by 44% and 96%, respectively. In China, this was influenced by the rising share of wind and solar power generation and tighter safety approvals, while in Australia, the slowdown was driven by weakening demand from major export markets such as Japan and South Korea, as well as the New South Wales government's halt on new "greenfield" coal mines.
2. Nordic countries consider restarting nuclear power construction
Sweden's largest power utility, Vattenfall, has selected Britain's Rolls-Royce to build three small modular reactors on Sweden's west coast. The total installed capacity will be approximately 1,410 megawatts, with annual generation of about 12 terawatt-hours, equivalent to roughly 8% of Sweden's national electricity consumption. The first unit is expected to begin operations around 2035. This marks Sweden's first new nuclear power project in over 40 years and signals the official restart of nuclear construction. The Swedish government removed the national cap of 10 reactors in 2023 and is currently reforming permit approval processes, improving nuclear waste management and emergency preparedness mechanisms, while also establishing financing and risk-sharing arrangements for nuclear investments to facilitate new reactor construction.
Denmark currently bans nuclear power by law, but in early 2026 it issued a "New Nuclear Technology Analysis Mandate" to assess issues such as technological maturity, legal amendments, regulatory systems, and waste management, in preparation for a potential future repeal of the ban. Discussions on small modular reactors are also heating up in Norway, where an industrial park project in the central part of the country officially received approval in February this year to proceed with an environmental impact assessment. Finnish clean-tech company Steady Energy has introduced the LDR-50 reactor, which has extremely low carbon emissions and safer operating conditions; the company has already signed agreements to build 15 reactors in Finland, with the first one potentially breaking ground as early as 2029.
3. Iran announces discovery of large gas field
On August 23, Iranian media reported that the country's oil minister announced the discovery of a new gas field in Fars Province, southern Iran. The field holds over 7.5 trillion cubic feet (approximately 212.4 billion cubic metres) of natural gas reserves, with recoverable reserves estimated at about 5.7 trillion cubic feet (roughly 161.4 billion cubic metres).
Domestic energy news
1. Asia's largest offshore oil processing platform completes topping-out
On August 22, reporters learned from CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) that the main structure of the Huizhou 19-6 platform, Asia's largest offshore oil processing platform, had completed its topping-out in Zhuhai. Once built, the platform will be used for the development and production of a large-scale, billion-tonne-class integrated oilfield in the Pearl River Mouth Basin.
At the Zhuhai deep-water equipment manufacturing base, the three-story electrical module of the Huizhou 19-6 platform, weighing 2,174 tonnes, was slowly lowered into place under the coordinated operation of three large crawler cranes, achieving a precise docking with the platform's main body. With the installation of this core module, the main structure of the platform's topside module was completed.
The Huizhou 19-6 platform is a three-story, eight-leg oil processing platform. Its topside module is about 85 metres high, equivalent to the height of a 30-storey residential building, with a footprint area close to that of 13 standard basketball courts, and a designed float-over weight of approximately 29,000 tonnes. To address the large size and high number of modules characteristic of major offshore engineering equipment, the project team adopted deep ground-level integration and innovatively used a multi-zone deck assembly and integral lifting technique, consolidating the original 30 deck assembly lifts into 10, achieving an integration rate of over 90%.
Following the topping-out of the main structure, the project will move into phases including pipeline installation, cable laying, and equipment commissioning. Once completed, the platform will be applied to the Huizhou 19-6 oilfield, which is China's first discovered deep to ultra-deep clastic rock billion-tonne-class integrated oilfield offshore, providing support for the efficient development of the billion-tonne oilfield and national energy supply security.
2. Tarim oilfield's cumulative green power generation exceeds 5.5 billion kWh
As of August 25, the cumulative photovoltaic power generation of the Tarim Oilfield had exceeded 5.5 billion kilowatt-hours, equivalent to replacing 1.65 million tonnes of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 3.22 million tonnes. This has made a significant contribution to promoting green and low-carbon transformation and development, expanding external clean energy supply, and supporting economic and social improvements.
According to statistics, since the beginning of this year, the Tarim Oilfield has produced 1.966 billion kWh of green electricity cumulatively, reaching a record high for the same period. In July alone, monthly power generation exceeded 330 million kWh, setting a new monthly record. According to data from the State Grid Xinjiang Electric Power Company, the annual equivalent utilization hours of the Tarim Oilfield's photovoltaic power stations are approximately 70 hours higher than the regional average, with both green power output and efficiency steadily improving, accelerating the upward trajectory of the new energy "second growth curve."
Currently, the Tarim Oilfield is continuing to expand its new energy development footprint and business portfolio, having commenced construction on four new energy projects with a total installed capacity of 1.8 gigawatts. These projects are expected to be fully completed within this year and ready for grid connection, which will increase the maximum green power production capacity by approximately 65%, building strong momentum for low-carbon green development.
3. Xinjiang completes construction of China's largest ultra-high-voltage power backbone grid
As of August 27, the total length of 750 kV ultra-high-voltage transmission lines in Xinjiang had exceeded 15,000 kilometres, making it the largest ultra-high-voltage power backbone grid in China.
Following the successful commissioning of the Xinjiang Kashgar 750 kV transmission project, the total length of Xinjiang's 750 kV ultra-high-voltage power grid reached 15,030.05 kilometres, establishing the country's largest ultra-high-voltage backbone network, covering an area of approximately 1.6 million square kilometres.
By the end of July this year, Xinjiang's cumulative power exports had exceeded 1,105.8 billion kWh, delivered to 23 provinces and autonomous regions across China, strongly supporting peak power demand during high-consumption periods in central and eastern regions. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period (2026–2030), Xinjiang will continue to accelerate power grid construction. By 2030, Xinjiang's power transmission capacity is expected to reach 60 gigawatts, providing a solid foundation for national energy and power supply security, as well as supporting large-scale new energy development and high-efficiency grid integration in Xinjiang.
(Main news sources: CCTVNEWS APP, Xinhua New Media, International Energy Network, China Energy Network, National Energy Administration)
